It begins, at last - 1982 FJ60 Project Clifford

[Sperl]

Howdy, everyone! Long time listener, first time caller here. After literal decades of wanting an old Land Cruiser...I have one to call my own. A buddy of mine (and FJ owner himself) found it near him in NC and was kind enough to take a look and gave me the thumbs up. I had it shipped to me in Colorado and it's game on. I'm calling it Clifford.

PO was generous with his time and honest/transparent about condition. He bought it desmogged and otherwise modified, and with an array of project remnants. He did a lot of work that you'll see in the pics and discussion to follow, and I happy to have a few things already taken care of. He also included a bunch of parts, and between those and my own plans I have a long list of projects to tackle.

I'm handy and have done a good bit bit of mechanical work in the past, but I plan to tap this community's knowledge base to push my limits and learn a bunch of stuff along the way. I'm fortunate to have access to an incredible resource in a DIY Auto Craft Shop just down the street, so the equipment and expertise in that building will facilitate lots of stuff above and beyond what I'd otherwise tackle in the driveway.

Thanks for following along, and a HUGE thank you to the community in general for the knowledge I've already soaked up.

 

[Sperl]

Started out with a once-over to get my bearings and tighten up the mental project list. I had a couple of free hours today so started in on project remnants. PPO (I think) was definitely running a few accessory electronics, and there was a bunch of wiring to clean up in the engine bay and under the dash.

If anyone wants those lights I'll happily send them your way for the cost of shipping. Wires were cut when I got it and they're not tested, but filaments are intact.

 

[Sperl]

Next up was removal of what appears to be a custom trailer hitch. It came off with minimal drama. I'm going to mount a 2" receiver hitch for the bike rack and towing our little camper, so this guy had to go. It seems to be well-built and is certainly burly, but not the right utility for my use.

Free to anyone who would like it. Probably prohibitively expensive to ship, so pickup in Colorado Springs or elsewhere nearby.

 

[Sperl]

And my first ask for the hive mind - what is this cylindrical bracket? It's mounted on crossmember forward of rear axle and towards driver side but doesn't have a matching one on passenger side, looks like it should take a bushing of some variety.

I'm planning to re-do the exhaust and noticed this while crawling around to identify and confirm original exhaust brackets.

 

[klip]

Looks like there’s remnants of some bracketry that was cut off the axle also. I think it might be an old traction bar mount.

 

[onemanarmy]

Yea, that's not a factory piece

 

[Sperl]

Looks like there’s remnants of some bracketry that was cut off the axle also. I think it might be an old traction bar mount.

Ah, I bet you're right. I'll crawl around a bit more in the daylight tomorrow and look for other remnants. Thanks!

Yea, that's not a factory piece

Didn't think so, appreciate the validation!

 

[onemanarmy]

good looking truck! looks like it could be driven as is!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Welcome. Tailgate looks mint compared to the faded paint on the other panels. Did you spit shine it?

 

[boots4]

Looks like there’s remnants of some bracketry that was cut off the axle also. I think it might be an old traction bar mount.

Yup, that used to be a anti-wrap bar to control "S" curving spring packs and protecting the pinion angle/u joints. No really needed for a spring under set up unless running some monster power. Usually seen more on spring over set ups.